Since the primary started, the race has been between Romney and the Anti-Romney.

From Bachmann to Perry to Cain, there has been a rising star only to fall back to earth.

But Pawlenty never had his chance to see his star rise, because he exited so early.   It is true that he bungled some things financially with his campaign, and placed way too much emphasis on winning the summer Iowa straw poll.  I don’t know if he would have reversed some of the same campaign management problems that Erick Erickson has pointed out Cain has struggled with, but after all this craziness, he could have emerged as a palatable Anti-Romney candidate.

As a two-term governor from a Midwest state that the GOP must win in 2012, and as one with a light load of personal baggage compared to the others in the race, he would have been the person everyone might be flocking to now.

Now, of all horrors, the latest rising star is Newt Gingrich, due in large part to his ability to be both sly and smart.  While Pawlenty spent all his money and efforts in Iowa in August, Newt disappeared on a Mediterranean cruise.  If only Pawlenty had taken the same ‘lie-low and wait’ tactic that Newt has, he may have weathered the early storms and found an eventual life buoy.

The problem now is the race is still Romney vs Anti-Romney with Newt as the latest foil. The bigger problem is neither is an attractive choice. Romney has shown the inability to rise and after four years he has hit his ceiling. Yet if Newt is the nominee, he will likely be forced to take public funding due to his bare coffers, show poorly in the general election due to his overall low likeability and allow Obama to not only be re-elected, but will allow him to claim a huge mandate after having won a second term after his own 2010 “shellacking.”

Whither Pawlenty when he is most needed?

The GOP also needs electoral college votes, something that Minnesota has.  Bring over neighbors Iowa and Wisconsin and that is twenty-seven of them.  And because the electoral college is a closed system, that is really a 54 vote “swing,” since the Democrats took all three in 2008.  A former governor of Minnesota could deliver these prizes, however a congresswoman from the same state who as recently as 2008 barely won her own district might not be able to.

Pawlenty has not and most likely will not offend many people, which to some red meat conservatives might be a hindrance but to the median-voter soccer mom, a trait of an acceptable alternative to Obama.  He is a solid conservative, which is impressive coming from a traditional democratic state. Also, he is proven.  Look back at the list of Republican presidents over the past half-century. They were all proven.  Two-term governors, vice-presidents and commanders of allied forces. GOP voters like proven.  Rick Perry is also proven, but will the constant ring of “the candidate from Texas” bring back a painful tinnitus from the GWB years?  Mitt Romney is also proven as governor of a deep-blue state and businessman, but he voted for Obamacare before he voted against it and that is a hard reality to accept.

With seemingly impossible odds and future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley on the mound, can Pawlenty swing for the fence and still connect cleanly?  Here’s hoping, because facing the incumbent  Obama in 2012 will be every bit as hard as facing the incumbent Bill Clinton in 1996.  And those in the GOP dugout look do not look as promising to bring home the trophy as Pawlenty does.

Until the Sanford implosion, DeMint would have been reluctant to elbow into the palmetto state parade led by his fellow South Carolinian hailed as the only governor to fight Obama to the finish on the stimulus money.  If not for Palin’s bizarre choice to end her only chance to accumulate legitimate executive experience, she would have remained the favorite of the pro-lifers and churched.  Now DeMint can squeeze through the door they’ve left ajar just in time to launch his new book, “Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America’s Slide into Socialism.”

He’s the most fiscal conservative member of the US Senate. And while his wit and wisdom are expressed in the manner of gentle kitten, his courage is that of a lion.  Few national politicians have the nerve to discuss certain polemic issues publicly, let alone write about them as he did in his book “Why We Whisper: Restoring our Right to Say It’s Wrong.”

He may not have the name recognition, money or television exposure to duel with the likes of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee right now, but the foolish ways of Sanford and Palin crack the door just enough for him to have the chance to eventually get there.

When will the Republicans learn that their aiding in this erosion of freedom is also eroding their trust of the people.

Here’s the sobering and sad link to the list of votes today that sent the bill to the ways and means committee.  Let us only hope these Republicans see the light and change their vote on the final roll call.

http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_member.php?cs_id=24249&sort=vote

But further, it is purely inexcusable that a single Republican voted yes for this measure.

The name of every GOP congressman who voted for this bill should be posted on this site so we may all identify who to campaign against in the 2010 primaries.

After the last four years of getting drubbed in elections, the GOP is still slow to learn that principle not politics is the only way to return to a majority.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4hJA2GmHFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhCLGU6vrD4

1. Mitt Romney — 20 percent (+business expertise) (-too perfectly coiffed?)
2. Bobby Jindal — 14 percent (+governor) (-too green)
3. Sarah Palin — 13 percent (+name recognition) (-needs more bookwork)
4. Ron Paul — 13 percent (+a true small government supporter) (-age)
5. Newt Gingrich — 10 percent (+brilliant strategist) (-homefront and sour 1990s)
6. Mike Huckabee — 7 percent (+Reagenesque communication) (-likes big government too much)

This post-defeat pettiness coming from the McCain staff as reported by Carl Cameron on FOX is rather unseemly.

John McCain should make a public statement condemning and rejecting these remarks and once again issue a heartfelt thanks to a woman who at a moment’s notice entered the lion’s den of national politics.

We were all proud of your positve concession remarks, now give some regarding Palin.

1. Faced with massive Democratic majorities in Congress, McCain would have had to track to the center just to get anything done.

2. Out of a sense of obligation to their president, the Republicans in Congress would have supported McCain in this move to the center and thus unable to mount a necessary and well-articulated opposition.

3. After four years, a 76 year-old McCain would face re-election backed by a further weakened Republican party and having to explain near-certain sky-high energy prices and unemployment.

4. You ask, why not let Obama inherit this mess and try to explain it in four years? Even he, The One, will be severely politically hampered by these issues? I agree.

Amazingly, Obama can run for POTUS another 7 times before he is older than McCain is now and would not have simply gone away after a loss tonight. Indeed a loss tonight might have allowed him to come back stronger and raise twice the cash for his second round against McCain in 2012.

In short, it was either “Obama Now” or “Obama Later”. Obama now allows the GOP to jettison the McCain mindset and begin a robust opposition. An Obama later would have delayed the inevitable while letting the Republicans toil and tarry in the wilderness of lost souls.

How a comment does considered mainstream in the Spanish-speaking community but more radical in the English-speaking community (i.e. foreign intervention, free trade, abortion, capital punishment, welfare, etc.)

The FCC has a hard enough time chasing down Spanish radio stations for their violations of foul language due to the language barrier and would find it impossible to reasonably discern the subtleties and nuances of political thought.

In an ironic sort of way, Spanish radio will help sink the Fairness Doctrine.

Consider:

1. Barney Frank proposes 25% military cut Frank foresees bank-type regulation for securities

2. LA Times supresses video the Rashid Khalidi video McCain, Palin demand L.A. Times release Obama video

3. John Fund’s investigative piece on Obama’s Acorn Ties An Acorn Whistleblower Testifies in Court

4. The long-coming hard-hitting questions against Biden. Barbara West (WFTV, Orlando, FL) Joe Biden Interview

5. The damaging and surreal WBEZ FM interview regarding the defective constitution. Obama Bombshell Redistribution of Wealth Audio Uncovered

6. The enticing hypocrisy of Obama’s dishonesty on public financing and the subsequent 30-minute infomercial.
   
   Honesty Counts (YouTube)

Let’s hope there’s enought time for it all to sink in…

This web ad lasts about 2 minutes and all excerpts are from the June 22 2008 edition of “Meet The Press.”

This could be such a damning issue for Obama. In one fell swoop you have the late Tim Russert questioning Obama’s honesty, Biden expressing his disappointment and Hillary her dismay over his flip-flop.

Maybe this would be a nice response to Obama’s 30 minute infomercial funded by this dishonesty…

Here’s the link on YouTube:

Honesty Counts (YouTube)

Anyone know how to get this to the McCain campaign?

It is pretty low-tech, so just pretend the famous voice-over guy is reading the captions.

Here it is:
Honesty Counts (YouTube)

All excerpts are from Meet The Press Jun 22 2008.

It is remarkable how damning this is to Obama. You have the late Tim Russert questioning his integrity, Biden showing his disappointment and Hillary expressing her dismay.

Here’s the ad:

Honesty Counts (YouTube)

Also, a great idea from James_Reynolds where he says that McCain should have an ad that “jokingly say anyways do you really wnat a guy in the office who postponed your world series 30 mins just to let you hear him speak.”

Good stuff.

The entire content is from the Jun 22 2008 edition of Meet The Press.

I don’t have any fancy software, so it is rudimentary. Just pretend you hear that great voice-over guy reading the captions and it will be better…

Honesty Counts (YouTube)